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Koya University included in Weinberg Fellowship in architectural history and preservation

Submitted by admin on Mon, 21/05/2018 - 20:10

In a press realease the Columbia University’s Italian Academy announced a $1.15 million gift from the Sidney J. Weinberg Jr. Foundation for a vital project that will bring as many as 20 additional Fellows over the next 5 years to study architectural history and preservation. “This generous gift from the Weinberg Foundation—one of the largest donations since the founding of the Academy—permits us to pursue the understanding and conservation of architecture of all geographic areas and periods,” said David Freedberg, Director of the Italian Academy.

The first Fellows are expected to be on campus already in September. Two to four Fellowships will be awarded each year and will run concurrently with the Academy’s other residential fellowships.

Dr Sahar Basil Mahmood Al-Qaisi, an assistant professor in the Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, at Koya University is one of the candidate for the followship this year. Dr Sahar has worked in this department since 2008, teaching classes in the history of architecture and conservation & rehabilitation as well as the Urban Design Studio. She received her B.Sc. in Architectural Engineering (1997) and M.Sc. in Urban Design (2005) from the University of Technology - Iraq, and her Ph.D. in Urban Conservation (2011) from the University of Baghdad - Iraq. She has since 2012 led a campaign to document the surviving heritage architectural features of Koya and of other nearby Iraqi Kurdish old towns, with her colleagues and students. In 2009 she had a 3-month scholarship at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Germany, via the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); in 2016 she was an awardee of the 2016 SAH-Getty international program grant (presented by the Society of Architectural Historians and the Getty Foundation). She has been a member of the Iraqi Engineers Union (IEU) since 1997; a consultant architect since 2014; and a member of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) since 2015. Her participation in conferences and publications reflects her research interests in conservation, urban design, and the history of architecture.

This initiative is developed in conjunction with the Academy’s new International Observatory for Cultural Heritage, which sponsors and encourages research on monuments, artifacts, and traditions.

The Weinberg Fellows will be on site at the Italian Academy, which occupies the “Casa Italiana” building—the neo-Renaissance palazzo built by McKim, Mead & White in 1927 and renovated in the 1990s by Italo Rota and Samuel G. White (great-grandson of Stanford White).

The Sidney J. Weinberg Jr. Foundation is an independent foundation in New York that supports health, science, the arts, and educational institutions.

The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America is a multidisciplinary Columbia research center that sponsors advanced research in the sciences and the arts via a Fellowship Program with at least 20 residential scholars each year, and with public conferences promoting academic, cultural, and scientific exchange. It was founded at Columbia in 1991 with support from the Republic of Italy.

Scientists at Koya University are encouraged to maintain continuous fruitful collaboration with the centers of excellence through their researches and innovations, enabling Koya University to have better global presence. Koya University is increasing its presence in the global academic arena. In the latest Webometics ranking of 2018 Koya University has been ranked as 5th best university in Iraq and 4577 globally. This is a remarkable achievement by a young and dynamic university such as Koya University (KOU) in the Middle East.

Koya University English Language Centre (BEHAR) is a commercial unit at Koya University campus which is run by leading qualified English language instructors who are trained at the University of Arkansas specifically for English lecturers. Join BEHAR centre.